Cherry Lambic Brownies (Brownies Made With Beer!)

Brownies and beer, together at last! This Cherry Lambic Brownies recipe is made with fresh Bing cherries. The brownies are rich, fudgy, and perfect with a scoop of ice cream.

Brownies + Beer

These are those kind of brownies.

The kind of brownies where you eat one and swear off chocolate for the rest of the year and vow to eat salad (and salad alone!) for the next week. But then you sneak one for breakfast the next morning. And maybe one for lunch too.

The kind of brownies that are so rich and fudgy, you have to eat them with a spoon.

The kind of brownies that incite arguments over who gets the last one.

(Yeah, that happened.)
About the Recipe

I realize that Cherry Lambic Brownies aren’t exactly why you read Oh My Veggies, but I had this idea floating around in my head ever since I made cupcakes with raspberry lambic earlier this year. I loved the hint of fruit the lambic added to those chocolate cupcakes and I wanted to experiment with using it in more baked goods. So I added “cherry lambic brownies” to my big list of recipes to make and it sat there for several months.

I found myself putting off making them because rich, decadent desserts tend not to do well on my blog. However! I’m a big believer in the power of the daily occasional brownie. And these brownies are so good, they’re worth sharing. So if you’re not here for brownies, you can come back tomorrow and I promise I’ll have something healthier for you. Deal?

Although I love cherries, I’m not a big fan of cherries in pies and cakes. The flavor is a little too much for me. I thought I’d try using Bing cherries because they’re in season and they have a mellower flavor than other, more assertive cherries that are used for baking. The lambic also adds more of a cherry undertone to the brownies–it’s understated, but it’s there. Make no mistake though, chocolate is the star here.

Cherry Lambic Brownies

Super fudgy, crazy decadent brownies made with lambic and Bing cherries. Adapted from Bon Appetit’s Chocolate-Stout Brownies.

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
• Yield: 16

Ingredients

Cherry Lambic Brownies

• cooking spray or oil mister
• 3/4 cup cherry lambic
• 12 oz semi- or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup pitted & halved cherries
• vanilla ice cream (optional)
• cherry sauce (optional)

Cherry Sauce

• 1/3 cup cherry lambic
• 1 cup pitted & halved cherries
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar

Instructions

Cherry Lambic Brownies

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Bring lambic to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to medium and cook about 10 minutes more, until reduced by about 1/3. Set aside.
3. Combine chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat at 30 second intervals, stirring after each one, until melted. (You can use a double-boiler for this if you want, but I’m lazy and I haven’t burned chocolate in the microwave yet!)
4. Combine sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk until well-combined. Slowly whisk in chocolate butter mixture, then lambic. Stir in flour and salt, then gently fold in cherries.
5. Pour brownie batter into baking dish. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of dish comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for at least 20 minutes and cut into 16 squares. Serve with vanilla ice cream and cherry sauce (if desired).

Cherry Sauce

1. Combine lambic and cherries in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently, or until thickened. Use wooden spoon to smash cherries against the side of the pan while it cooks for thicker sauce or puree with immersion blender after sauce has finished cooking for a smoother consistency.

Notes

After making this recipe, I discovered the best tool for cutting brownies: a bench scraper! Instead of cutting with a knife, use a scraper to cut perfect squares.